It's Just A Saying
by 808Lionfire
Summary: ...but he took it way too seriously. (Kind of a darker fanfic than I'm used to with hints of Angst. As usual, I made an extremely long one-shot but oh well, Enjoy!)


**A/N: This fireworks concept is something I had for an original story (not a fanfiction) but I decided, what the heck? Might as well try to convert this into a Fairy Tail fanfic since I'm running out of ideas for one-shots. My OC had a similar experience to Natsu (death of a dear friend right in front of his eyes). I decided _not_ to write that story though, it was too dark for my tastes. Troubled spirit and such.**

**Also note, my OC had a lighter instead of magic because he... yeah. Smoked.**

******Warning: Characters will be OOC! This is not my best, mind you. I rewrote an old story almost completely at two thirty in the morning because for some reason I'm nocturnal. Only rewriting the scenarios and keeping some of the dialogue and some scenes. Was originally 4k+ but adding the additional FT themes it got to 6k+ and I'm neither known for my 'short' authors notes nor my 'short' one-shots. ******

**I hope you enjoy and as always, see you in the next one! -808Lionfire **

**[Edit: I was reading through the story after I posted this and I found some seriously _obvious_ mistakes so I'm updating this edited version...]**

****Disclaimer: Fairy Tail (c) Hiro**** **Mashima**

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><p><strong>Summary:<strong> It's just a saying... but for some weird reason, he took it way too seriously.

**Parings:** definite Natsu/Lucy, implied Gray/Juvia, implied Gajeel/Levy, may be a lot of other implied ships, ton of other friendship/siblingship feels, Fairy Girls friendship, Fairy Guys friendship, Family feels and Fairy Tail just being Fairy Tail

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><p><em>It's Just A Saying<em>

"Hey! Natsu!"

A girl with short white hair waved as she ran towards the salmon-haired boy that sulked on a log farthest from the unlit fire-pit. Everyone else had gathered around the fire-pit or was currently making use of what was left of the sunlight and played near the water or on the sand. It's been a week since the end of the Grand Magic Games. And almost two months (seven years and two months for some of the members) since Lisanna "The Youngest" Strauss had returned from the dead. Literally.

Once Team Natsu was finally able to sit down and explain to everyone in the guild what happened in Edolas, Fairy Tail broke out into a short brawl before deciding to celebrate this Ghost's return. But, instead of celebrating in the usual Fairy Tail way, Master had suggested that they all take a well needed -_gasp_- vacation. That meant no work, no missions, no jobs and no serious fighting ("And no destruction!" Master had quietly cried in relief). It was a joyous time after all. It wasn't every day that a dear nakama and family member joins them after nearly three years of sullen disappearance.

They celebrated the typical Fairy Tail way anyway but they all vowed to keep it under control until the actual vacation. However, the S-class trials came around and since everyone wanted to go on jobs, they couldn't take their time off then. Then the Tenroujima incident happened and the members who were left felt no need to celebrate since the reason they were going to in the first place, had been on the island with the others. Then when they returned, there was the Infinity Clock business and straight after that was the Grand Magic Games training and then the Grand Magic Games. They couldn't celebrate at all. Not even the return of the Tenrou team. Until now.

So here they were, on Akane beach for the past two days, doing just that. Though most of the guild members cast frightened or hesitant glances at a certain Dragon slayer, unsure whether to ask if he was alright or if he was going to start a fight soon. They were wary and they had completely justified reason to be. The very person that everyone expected to celebrate the most, currently sat on the farthest log he could find. Pouting all the while.

They even expected the Fire Dragon Slayer to take part in playing with the Fireworks. In their defense, Natsu's eyes had brightened for a quick second (and he even stood too!) but the light immediately died when his gaze was caught on something by the ocean. It wouldn't have been the same without the Dragon Slayer so they postponed it until he felt better.

Even Happy wasn't proving his name. But at least the blue exceed tried to join in the Sandcastle Making Contest or the Mermaid Tail Contest.

"Oh," The salmon-haired boy muttered sullenly as the white-haired girl stopped in front of him, "Hey, Lisanna."

"You alright?" Lisanna asked with a smile, her breathing labored since she ran to him straight from the waterside.

Her waist to the tips of her toes was completely caked with sand, not bothering to rinse the grains away. Her team had joined the Mermaid Tail Contest and she was the model for the first round apparently. Her team consisting of Evergreen, Mira and herself. The 'judges' were still debating who the winner was.

"Yeah, of course," Natsu replied, giving the girl a less than believing grin.

"Riiiight," The white-haired mage agreed sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "And my name isn't Lisanna Strauss."

The salmon-haired boy gave her a weird look, "But it is."

"Natsu," She giggled before plopping down next to him and stare out at the ocean, "You're not understanding my sarcasm."

"I-I got it," Natsu muttered, a flush creeping up his neck, "I just decided to ignore it. Yeah! I just ignored it..."

"Seriously though," Lisanna sighed fondly, lightly bumping their shoulders together, "You're not acting like the Natsu I knew." The salmon-haired boy opened his mouth but she easily cut him off, "And before you can say '_time can change, __people can change_' I heard the tales and you aren't one of those people. I believe I know you much better than that."

There was a moment of silence before Lisanna turned to look at the Dragon Slayer. Both awed and surprised at his face, the Animal-Soul Take-Over mage had to stifle a laugh behind her hand. No longer was the sullen expression on the salmon-haired boy's face, that completely disappeared. Instead, there was a hurt and an abandoned look as if he was a puppy that didn't get a piece of his master's dinner. Such a sad but cute look that Lisanna hadn't recalled ever seeing before, so she had to laugh.

Despite her desperate attempts to quiet herself, the Dragon Slayer's sensitive hearing still picked up on it. Still, she kept her hand over her mouth until she finally felt the laughter in her stomach bubble away. Once she was calm again, she turned to is now defeated expression before prodding questions at him again. With a heavy sigh, he finally tipped over and spilled everything that was on his mind. After he finished, he waited with expectant and waiting eyes. He didn't know what to expect.

Sympathy maybe?

But no, he didn't get any of that. In fact, what he got was the exact opposite. Lisanna erupted into a roar of laughter. It was the kind of laugh where tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she futilely held her stomach in a desperate attempt to keep it from hurting but failing anyway. She laughed so hard that others had turned to see what was so funny but once they saw the white-haired girl sitting next him, they immediately became disinterested. Because after all, how could something so funny come out of the sulking Dragon Slayer?

Exactly.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Lisanna roared, barely keeping her balance on the log. She was unaware of her salmon-haired who sunk deeper in depression. "THAT'S SO- AHAHAHAHA!"

"Yeah, laugh it up," Natsu muttered with a wince, digging his ear with his pinky finger.

He briefly caught a different, deeper roar of laughter on the other side of the beach but it could have been his mind playing tricks on him. Lisanna's laugh did make him nearly deaf after all. However, it did suspiciously sound like a laugh Gajeel would make if he wasn't set on laughing like a damn idiot. Everyone knows the one. The '_Gihi_' one.

"Thanks," Natsu grumbled when the white-haired mage calmed enough so she could hear him.

"I'm sorry," She apologized, wiping a tear from her eye, "But you're so dense sometimes."

"Gee," He rolled his eyes, "That means so much coming from you."

"So you're honestly telling me the reason why you haven't gotten into any fights, participated in any of the contests or even twitched when we were going to play with the fireworks was because of _that_?" Lisanna asked, taking a couple of deep breaths. Natsu eyed her skeptically before giving a slow, hesitant nod. "Honestly," She giggled, "That's just a saying, Natsu. You heard Master say it plenty of times, why are you getting so hung up on it?"

"I dunno," He frowned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "It just didn't sound right coming from L-"

"Lisa-chan!" A familiar bluenette cut the Dragon Slayer off, running towards the pair with a wide smile on her face, "Lu-chan told me to call you! They're announcing the winners!"

Lisanna darted her eyes towards her salmon-haired friend just in time to see him perk up a bit before deflating immediately. She giggled behind her hand and yelled back to Levy saying that she'll be there soon. The bluenette stopped in her tracks and gave her a skeptical look before nodding and turning on her heel, quickly running back to the judging area. Lisanna smiled fondly at her family eagerly racing onto the beach, awaiting the final results. She really hoped her group could win the 'First Job Pick' prize when they get back but Levy had made a surprisingly majestic mermaid for the final round.

She was sure a certain Iron Dragon Slayer would agree. Her, Lucy and Mira had giggled together when Gajeel walked over to judge Lucy's team, a slight blush on the Dragon Slayer's face. He was one of the judges due to his persistently stoic expressions. Natsu was also supposed to be a judge as well since his judgement wouldn't have been swayed by any of the girls' looks alone... they think (If he ever went easy on a certain Celestial mage, he'd probably blame it on her being his team-mate. Like always).

"You coming this time?" Lisanna asked the salmon-haired boy once she stood up with a stretch. Natsu silently shook his head with a fond smile, his eyes fixated on the crowd. "Alright," The white-haired mage smiled, "Even though you can probably hear it, I'll be back to tell you the results anyway."

With that, the youngest Strauss waved at him before jogging to join the rest of her family.

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><p>Night had fallen on the fifth day of Fairy Tail's vacation and the family gathered by the ocean again. They hadn't stayed in the resort the whole time they were there, claiming that they never had a full Guild Camping trip. Most of Fairy Tail quickly figured out on the first night that it was just Master being cautious. Much to everyone's dismay and amusement, the country Fiore had made a pact with the Fairy tail guild that they don't need to pay for damages as long as it wasn't buildings, towns, villages, etc. and that they can fill in the missing spaces.<p>

Mountains not included.

Like she promised, Lisanna returned to tell Natsu the results and together they laughed. Apparently, Elfman's team (consisting of himself, Freed and Bixlow) had won the prize. That was three days ago. Since then, Lisanna, Levy, Erza, and Mira (just to name a few) had sat with him every once in a while. One by one, they eventually pried his woes out of him and they all had the same reaction. Deep, gut-wrenching laughter.

Before they left, they all reminded him that it was '_just a saying_'. However, he already knew that and he had come to terms of that. But nevertheless, while it was great to hear their attempts to console him, they weren't the person he wanted to hear from. Everyday, he found his eyes stuck and his mind always half-focusing on just one person. Sometimes he tried to stare hard enough to where she'd get the hint and just turn to him. Maybe give him one of the smiles she reserves just for him.

He did perk up though, energy spurred back by all of the friends that were concerned enough to talk to him. Gray even had made an appearance, much to his disbelief and amusement. Disbelief because they'd always end up fighting and Erza unleashed her hidden power on them, amused because Juvia was always glued to the Ice Make mage's side. He mercilessly teased his rival causing another bout of arguments which were quickly subdued by well... you get the point.

Much to everyone's relief, he had been up and about more lately and much to Master's relief, he was better and less destructive. Happy had taken to float around him every so often but then returned to Carla or Lucy. That traitor. Now that the fifth day was ending, the family had gathered on the beach with a lot of fireworks. His paranoid and irrational fear of his own fire stopped him from joining them. So he just settled on sitting on the sand, leaning back on the log he deemed as his and watch as everyone laughed. Some even chasing each other with sparklers.

Somewhere as time passed, he had closed his eyes just enjoying the sounds of his family laughing and letting out amazed '_ooh_'s as balls of fire popped in the dark sky. He could practically see it through the sound, the bright lights mingling with the shining stars above. And with a faint mind, he barely heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. It probably be either Lisanna or Erza trying to get him to light fireworks with them again anyway. However, the presence decided to just flop down in the empty space in his left side, leaving only a few inches of space between them.

Whoever it was emitted a familiar warmth that he hadn't felt since the day he developed his fear of his own magic. Such a nostalgic scent of vanilla, strawberry and stars washed over him. He could pick it out instinctively beneath the weird perfume that _she_ have always insisted on wearing. A scent that had basically became second nature to him. He let off a small shudder, assuming he was just imagining it.

_Is this the withdrawals that Cana spoke of_? Natsu murmured into his mind but a chime-like voice cut off his brain completely.

"Let's see here..." The voice muttered as crinkling of plastic accompanied it.

The smell of gunpowder overpowered her scent and he quickly snapped his eyes open. The fireworks still popped loudly in front of them but Natsu payed no mind to it, quickly whipping his head to his left. Sure enough, the familiar Celestial mage had sat beside him. However, she wasn't focused on him. Instead she was currently rummaging through a large bag of fireworks.

The Fire Dragon Slayer blinked once, then twice. He even rubbed his eyes a few times just to make sure his eyes and brain wasn't failing him.

"...Lu...cy?"

The Celestial mage's head snapped up when she heard him speak, turning to him with curiously large chocolate eyes. She looked back down for a quick second, pulling out a box of sparklers before looking back up to him with a questioning gaze. When he still had yet to say a thing, her eyes narrowed into thin slits. Natsu wisely kept his mouth closed instead of gaping at his blonde partner like a fish (Happy'd have a ball with that one). He could see an amused smile trying to pull at her lips but she tried desperately to keep it at bay for his sake.

His tongue seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't ask why she had stayed away from him all this time even as the rest of their family surrounded him. He couldn't ask why she hadn't been talking to him or even _look_ at him for that matter. He couldn't make any sense of this current situation and despite his inner turmoil, he couldn't ask her to leave. He could never ask her to leave. Not like he wanted her to leave, that'd be like cutting off a limb, but he could never bring himself to do it. He was frozen.

He just didn't know what to say.

"Na...stu?" She mocked him teasingly as if nothing changed.

A grin pulled across his face right as she stuck the open box of sprinklers in the small space between them. He watched as she pulled out a packet of small rockets, bloomers and fountains before carefully placing the rest of the fireworks on the side. She handed him a packet of rockets and he wordlessly took them, watching her carefully sort out the fireworks.

"What is all of this?" Natsu asked, briefly looking down at the packet of rockets in his hand.

"C'mon Natsu," Lucy laughed, "You've seen fireworks before." She worked on unwrapping the fountains and the bloomers before speaking to him absentmindedly, "Remember that one time when we went to Old Man Yajima's restaurant after the mission to subdue the bandits that raided the Firework shop?" She giggled thinking back and Natsu smiled as well, "To this day, that's the angriest I ever saw Yajima."

"Me too."

"To think that they still decided to give us fireworks as a reward even after seeing your destruction and the type of magic you used."

"...It wasn't that bad."

"No, it wasn't. I was both surprised and proud of you when you managed to keep every single one of the fireworks in the shop unlit. Imagine Master's face if you did though."

"You can't blame it all on me though! One of your horse spirit's arrows caught on fire, nearly lighting one of the fountains."

"...sure it did."

Natsu laughed at the guilty blush that spread across the blonde's cheeks. She playfully pushed him, knocking the salmon-haired boy into the sand. He just continued to laugh as he slowly picked himself back up. She opened a pack of bloomers and ordered him to open the pack of rockets. Unable to go against her demand (mostly because she could be as scary as Erza), he started to peel the packet open.

"I forgot to ask, but why are you over here?" Natsu asked, keeping a keen eye on his work.

"Do you not want me here?" Lucy replied with a raised brow, she shifted to stand, "Because I can leave if you want me to."

"No!" Natsu shouted, his left hand whipping out to wrap around her wrist. With a slight blush, he cleared his throat and released her as she started to settle back into her original seat, "I mean, no, I don't mind. Just a question."

"Well," Lucy smiled, a pleasant rush of warmth spreading through her, "First of all, the girls had been saying that you looked kinda down lately and you looked like you needed the company." He didn't reply, instead, he took one of the small rockets and stuck the wooden stick in the sand between them. "Also, they stole all of the wicks so I have no source to light our share. Then you came to mind," She grinned and tenderly bumped their shoulders, "Who else is more fit to help me out than my best friend, right?"

Natsu smiled, "Right. But 'our'?"

"Yeah," Lucy grinned, "Since they figured you weren't going to pop any, they gave me your share. Why? Do you care?"

"We're splitting our share right now right?" Natsu asked, sticking the last of the rockets into the sand. Lucy nodded, still waiting for his answer. "Then I don't mind at all."

"Great!" The blonde exclaimed happily and passed him the pack of bloomers, "Gray also told me that you said you're afraid of your own magic. So them stealing the wicks and forcing me to come here is a great opportunity to get you less afraid."

"Stupid stripper," Natsu mumbled.

Lucy laughed, catching what he said. She then rose from her seat and folded her legs under her, pulling two sparklers out of the box. The blonde reached back and softly wrapped her arm around his wrist to pull him to the same position. Hesitantly, Natsu rose to his knees before leaning back onto his legs, his pants crinkling uncomfortably behind his knee.

"I don't know," He hesitantly muttered, quickly pulling his arm out of Lucy's grip and returning it to his lap.

"Lisanna told me, you know," The blonde announced, looking straight into the salmon-haired boy's eyes, "I figured out why you don't want to use your magic. Natsu, I wasn't serious when I said that. It's-"

"_-just a saying_," Natsu growled lowly, running a hand through his hair, "I know, everyone keeps telling me. Everyone says it and everyone jokes about it but coming from you... I don't know!"

The Dragon Slayer gripped his salmon hair in his fist, tugging it in frustration. He shifted back until he heavily sat back down and leaned back onto the log. With one leg bent and the other stretched out in front of him, he stared out at the Fairies that still played happily by the shore.

"Natsu..." Lucy trailed, laying a gentle hand on his arm. Natsu just brushed it off, not in offense or anything. He just couldn't take her touch right then.

"No, Luce," He sternly shook his head, peeking at her from the corner of his eye before looking back down at his lap, his hands still in his hair.

"Fine," The blonde huffed, turning towards him and giving him a stern glare, "Tell me what's wrong. Don't give me that look, Natsu." He quickly looked away from the suspicious gaze that he gave her. "Lisanna told me what you told her but I have a feeling that it goes much deeper than that. Like there's something you're not telling," She persistently pushed his shoulder, "Please? It'll make you feel better."

Natsu gave her a skeptical look, "You won't get upset?"

"I'm not promising anything but I'll try."

Giving the blonde one last skeptical look, he ran a hand down his face before beginning, "That night last week when you didn't come home until late, when I set your bed on fire by accident, I watched you _die_ right in front of my eyes. I fell asleep in your apartment waiting for you, I didn't mean to. I promise. And it wasn't the you from the future this time, Luce. It was _you_." Natsu shook his head, "In the dream, I tried so hard to stop it. I tried to fight him in the dream and then I accidentally set your bed on fire in my sleep. Then you came in, looked at the burnt sheets and then- and then you said _that_."

"I'm sorry, Natsu," Lucy apologized softly, guilt wrapped around her words and her heart, "Why did't you tell me? You just ran out after..."

"I was afraid," He admitted with a heavy heart, "Your words echoed in my head and kept on thinking back the the dream... and I couldn't help but agree with you. What's my magic for if I can't even use it to save you? Or anyone else?"

Lucy let out a groan of frustration before carefully crawling over the fireworks and plopped herself right in front of him. She nudged his leg to the side so she could scoot closer and grip his hands in hers. A look of determination flashed in her chocolate eyes as she kept them locked on his dark green ones. She lifted his right hand off of his bent leg and stared at it for a moment before lifting up the left one as well.

"Natsu, you'll be the death of me," The Celestial mage recalled the words of that night but this time she muttered them fondly. However, the Dragon Slayer flinched at them. He tried pull his hands back but froze when she closed her eyes and brought his right hand to her cheek, feeling the damp tracks of her tears. "You're such an idiot," She continued, a sigh pushing from her lips, "Why didn't you say something? Anything?"

"Dunno," Natsu mumbled, guiltily casting his eyes away from the blonde's face.

"Let's get one thing straight, Natsu Dragneel," Lucy said sternly, her eyes opening to fix him a hard look but he refused to look back, "I can't count how many times you have saved me and how many times you have saved our nakama, but you have to understand that you're not indestructible. On that day, when I died in my own arms, I saw you try to stop the sword with this hand right here." To further her point, she spread the fingers of his right hand on her face, sliding her hand down to his wrist before continuing, "Whether I got hit or not, I want to thank you for _trying_. Don't look at that as being too late to stop it because the way I see it, I have saved myself for the first time since I joined. Of course, I was sad and a bit terrified but I didn't have to rely solely on you alone."

"But think about the moments afterwards," Lucy continued, pulling his hand off of her face and brought up his left hand to meet with his right, "You fought back with your magic and these two hands. You did not only turn the tables for our present selves, you defeated the future Rogue and gave the future me a different ending. Probably one where she continued to live and have much more adventures."

Natsu lifted his face just as Lucy reached out and gently brushed a hand on his face. He quickly caught it and pressed her palm against his cheek, much like how she did to his.

"I hugged you after the battle because I was proud," Lucy smiled, spreading her fingers against his cheek, "And I was happy. Unbelievably happy. I had this feeling that you gave the future me her life back and when you think about it like that, no one died. No one was sacrificed for the future and no one had died for the past. We are alive because you were there. Because if you're not here, Natsu, you'll be the death of me. So I'm pinning my well-being on you," She waved a finger in his face before pushing his hand back, "Now, c'mon. Give me back my Natsu, this gloomy one isn't as much fun."

Lucy pulled her hand out of his and dropped it down to his scarf, loosening the fabric around his neck before twisting and ducking under it. After a few moments of struggling (and no help from the Dragon Slayer whatsoever), she managed to pop her head out from the other side. She turned her head slightly to give the salmon-haired boy a cheeky grin before settling between his legs and getting comfy. She grabbed one of the small rockets and gripped Natsu's wrist and gave him an expectant look.

"C'mon, Flame Boy," Lucy teased, feeling the scarf slip down their shoulders before lightly shaking his arm, "Light it up."

"Hold on," Natsu mumbled reluctantly after a second of just staring at her, he snatched the rocket away from the blonde's grip and sighed.

He took the stick and snapped it, making sure that the stick was still attached before reaching down and gripping Lucy's hand. He pointed the rocket away from them and positioned her hand as if she was holding a pistol. With a deep breath and a reassuring smile from the blonde, he lit one finger on fire and carefully lit the fuse, blocking her arm just in case the sparks jumped off. Right before the rocket went off, he tipped it up to the sky and it shot off.

The piercing whistle it let off as it flew didn't bother his ears because it was drowned out by the bubbly giggle from the blonde as it exploded into a tiny, beautiful bloom. They did this a couple of times but then Natsu stopped her when she was going to break the last rocket's stick. He just shook his head and told her they were going to save that one for later but they had to pop the other ones first. With a skeptical look, Lucy agreed slowly and reached for bloomers.

They had contests on who could get their firework into the dying fire-pit. Natsu had gotten every single shot and laughed every single time Lucy had attempted to make a shot. She however, would wait too long and by the time she could actually throw the firework, Natsu had to knock it out of her hand because it was running out of fuse. Lucy had pouted every time he did that but let it go because he argued that she was holding it too long.

When they moved onto the sparklers, Lucy found out that even though she was in front of him, he still had a longer arm span than her. She hardly noticed the muscled arm that wrapped around her waist to pull her back when she scooted too far, trying for another pack of sparklers. She could tell that the Dragon Slayer still had a part of his mind on their earlier conversation but was slowly returning to his usual playful self. He laughed every time she freaked out that the sparkler was getting too small before taking it from her hand and letting the firework run it's course. He also made her laugh by poking her sides every so often, making her drop the stick and start a small fire in front of them.

Natsu had said that he didn't do it on purpose but every time it happened, he had no hesitations on eating the flame. So instead of scolding him, she just rolled her eyes and continued on. Neither wanted to sit up to set up the fountain fireworks, deciding to light it up with the rest of Fairy Tail since they were popping their share in isolation. That or because they were too comfortable to move.

When they finally ran out of things to light up, they finally returned to the last rocket.

"What are you going to do with this one?" Lucy asked as she snuggled back against Natsu's warmth and buried her face into his scarf. She felt his grin against the side of her temple as he bent forward to focus on snapping the stick. Once he settled his hand on the stick, refusing to let the blonde hold it, he lit the fuse.

"It's finding someone special," Natsu muttered just before it shot in the direction of a familiar Ice mage. Lucy gasped in horror, turning to slap him on the arm. "Geez, Luce," The salmon-haired boy mumbled, rubbing his arm, "It's not like it'll actually hit him."

True to his word, before the rocket could hit the Ice mage (who was by himself thankfully), he had quickly created a shield to block the rocket. Natsu cursed and quickly pulled Lucy to a stand with him. She could hear Gray's yelling but couldn't see him because Natsu had scooped her in his arms and took off, his scarf still wrapped securely around them. She wanted to scold him but she was quickly silenced by the carefree and childish laugh that Natsu had released, something she hadn't heard in almost a week. It could also be for the fact that she squeaked in fear every time the Dragon Slayer safely avoided one of Gray's ice attacks.

"Natsu, you'll be the death of me," Lucy mumbled into his scarf, quickly squeaking when Natsu avoided the ice attack aimed at his head.

Natsu just gave her a carefree grin before taking a corner and jumping over a hedge. Once they heard Gray curse and run past, he finally set her down and grinned again. The fire in his eyes were back and in full force. It was due to either the time he spent with the blonde or the reassuring words she had given him earlier, but he felt completely energized just off of her. The kind of energy that the others had failed to offer.

"It's just a saying, Luce."

* * *

><p>[<em>Extra: Not a part of the original plot. Something I made up on the fly.<em>]

"By the way," Lucy deadpanned, looking up at Dragon Slayer with blank eyes as they walked back to the beach where their family was waiting, "You owe me half of your share of rewards on the next couple of jobs. Cana created a bet that you'd be one hundred percent before I could talk to you. Others bet that that I would run to you once I figured out why you were so gloomy."

Natsu grinned down at the Celestial mage, "So what did you bet on?"

"I obviously betted against them!" Lucy raged reaching around to lightly tap the boy on the back of his head, he rubbed the spot where she hit but continued to grin anyway, "And I lost a lot of money for it too! You let me down, Natsu! You owe me two months worth of rent!"

"So that's why you kept away? Awe, thanks Luce!"

"Like it made a difference! I still lost everything I had in my pocket!" Her pitiful sob rang through the air as his laughter overpowered it, "All of my rent money..."

Natsu laughed evilly, "It's okay! We'll just go on a ton of jobs when we get back!"

Lucy gave him a withering stare as she picked up the nearly empty plastic bag that held the rest of their fireworks (The fountains they wanted to pop with the Guild). Of course, the adventure aspect of taking the jobs were fun, but between that... the train rides, transportation and money spent getting to the actual job, wasn't what she was looking forward to. As if the Dragon Slayer read her mind, he leaped towards her with a laugh. He wrapped his arm comfortably around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

She offered a smile and was rewarded with one of Natsu's fanged grins.

"Hey, Luce?"

"Hmm?" Lucy hummed absentmindedly, gently swinging the bag as they walked closer to the shore. She could see the others grinning at them and waving them over already. She returned their wave but her attention was focused only on Natsu.

The Dragon Slayer paused, "I realized something on this trip..."

"Yeah?" She asked, quirking a brow, "What is it?"

"Eh," He shrugged, "I'll tell you when we get back home."

"We're not going home for two more days. Are you really going to make me wait that long?"

"Isn't this what you call in one of you books? What's the word... su- susp-"

"Suspense?"

"Yeah, that one."

The blonde gave him a skeptical look before slowly nodding, "I guess. Didn't know you had it in you to be anything but eager."

"Thanks!" Natsu grinned, taking that as a compliment.

With a quick flash of sudden determination, he pulled them both to a stop. Lucy gave him a curious look but stopped whatever she was going to say. He had a serious face, which confused her. However, before he could hesitate or second guess himself, he turned Lucy to him and yanked her to him. Natsu knew that in Lucy's romantic books, the normal situation that would happen to a normal girl would be to give her a kiss and be done with it. But Lucy wasn't a normal girl (she was unbelievably important) and this wasn't a normal situation. Besides, getting a surprisingly gentle hug from the usually destructive Dragon Slayer was definitely better than a sappy timed kiss.

So instead of getting upset about it, Lucy wrapped her arms around him instead. Returning the hug, tenfold. She felt Natsu's grateful grin against her temple as he slowly breathed in her scent. If he was anybody else, that would've weirded her out but him sniffing her wasn't really anything new.

"Thank you," Natsu uttered when they pulled apart.

"For what?" Lucy asked, a grin on her face.

"Dunno," He shrugged, "For always being there, I guess."

"I can only return the favor," The blonde replied, gently patting Natsu's arm before completely pulling away. "Now enough of this sappy stuff. Everyone was complaining to me that you suddenly had gotten boring. Gray being the most vocal."

Like she hoped, the Dragon Slayer immediately fumed. His eyes locking onto his rival, the familiar fire burned in his eyes before he dashed off towards the rest of Fairy Tail. Lucy followed behind a bit slower, already hearing cheers of excitement before yelling broke out and the first guild brawl took place on the beach. Even Erza joined in for good measure, glad that everyone was finally back to normal. Lisanna caught her eye and gave her a wink and a quick thumbs up while Mira clapped with glee.

Seconds later, Natsu jumped out of the brawl and quickly made his way over to the blonde with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Lucy, immediately figuring his intent, dropped the bag of fireworks and turned on her heel to run away but he easily caught her around the waist and pulled her back. She struggled, kicking her legs to get free, still trying even though she knew it was futile.

"Natsu! Don't you dare! I might die in that!"

"No you wont!" Natsu yelled back over her screams, "This is payback but I'll protect you, I promise!"

"NOOOOO!"

Happy grinned, flying over them with a paw pressed against his lips, "They liiiiiiike each other!"


End file.
